Does anyone know how to make a device that will create smoke when plugged in. It'll be for a halloween prop.

Question

I need something that doesn't cost much and can be made from store bought items. It'll be put under a fake electric chair that I'm building for Halloween.

I have a smoke machine but it only turns on when it's ready and it makes too much smoke. Dry ice smoke flows in the wrong direction. I just need a moderate amount of smoke by using store bought items. (come on special effect guys, I know you know how).

Answer 1

Very simple. You need a bucket of water and a large block of dry ice (can be purchased from any commercial ice supply company).

Slowly lower the dry ice into the water and you will get steam that very much resembles smoke. You can adjust the amount of "smoke" by how far you lower the ice into the water. When you want the "smoke" to end, raise the dry ice back out of the water.

Unlike chemical smoke devices, dry ice leaves no oily residue to clean up afterwards (it's simply steam).

For your fake electric chair above, you make want to consider some type of hidden rope arrangement, with the ice at the other end hanging over the bucket.

By the way, the dry ice will slowly "melt" at room temp, so you might want several blocks to last an entire evening.

Warning: Do not handle dry ice with your bare hands and don't allow children to play with it. It is much colder, and therefore more dangerous, than regular ice.

Enjoy your halloween.


REPLY TO ADDITIONAL DETAILS: Use a small fan to control the direction of the dry ice smoke. I'm not talking about a house fan, but a small, relatively weak, fan like that in a computer laptop.

Don't put the fan directly over the smoke. That would spoil the effect and disperse the smoke too quickly, Instead, just have it blowing just the right amount of air (your preference) in the general direction you want.

You can buy these fans at stores selling electronic components (a battery or battery pack, depending on the voltage, will run one for hours).

If that doesn't cut it, go the opposite direction. Use something gives the amount of smoke you want and use a stronger fan to disperse it away when you don't want your audience to see it.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, theres no happy medium for having a fogg device for a large room. You either buy a fogger for a large area or come up with a make shift item for small scenic effects. A alternate solution to a plug and play device that creates scenic fog is a ultrasonic fogger. It is a relatively inexpensive device can be found as low as 25.00 US. Visit here for a link to get an idea www.nutramist.com. Type "ultrasonic fogger" in a search engine field and you can find some vendors. It basically works by a crystal diode controlled diaphram that makes a small vibration. When submerged into water will do some funky water thing and turns it into fog. The neat thing about this device is it is very small and consumes little power making it an ideal choice for small fog applications for haunts and such. There are more expensive versions that can create enough fog to cover hundreds of square feet of open space. So you have a full spectrum for application.

Answer 3

Just buy a smoke machine?! will be alot easier than trying to make one n they are not that expensive, around £20? hope this helps x

Answer 4

How about a cake pan, some hot water and a some dry ice? Just remember ... do NOT touch the dry ice with your bare hands!!!! Use tongs and gloves!

Answer 5

I don't know how to make something that uses electricity but you can use dry ice.

Answer 6

they sell smoke machines in stores and it would be cheaper than buying individual parts to make it.

Answer 7

go to walmart.
they sell smoke machines for like 20 bucks.

Answer 8

yeah...it's called a smoke machine.

Answer 9

why dont u go to you local Target or walmart and buy a fogger?
they are not very expensive.

Answer 10

Check out this link....

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2006/10/how_to_homemade_ironbased_fogg.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890